Blu-ray Sales: Transformers Soar Past the Moon

October 14th, 2011

Transformers: Dark of the Moon dominated the new releases and the Blu-ray sales chart in a way few films have managed. It sold 1.42 million units generating $29.66 million from Friday through Sunday. Its opening Blu-ray ratio was 64%, which is a record for a first-run release. It also represented 68% of all Blu-rays sold, which is mind-boggling.
Bridesmaids was pushed into second place with 155,000 units / $3.88 million for the week and 748,000 units / $17.18 million after two. It is selling very well for this type of release and while it will be a while before comedies sell more Blu-rays than DVDs that day seems inevitable. Thor remained in third place with 79,000 units / $2.38 million for the week, giving it three-week totals of 1.09 million units / $30.79 million. This is a good result so far, but given the film's box office numbers and its reviews, I was expecting a little more than this. Star Wars: The Complete Saga fell to fourth place with 74,000 units / $6.15 million and after nearly a month of sales, it has sold 990,000 units generating $76.21 million in sales. X-Men: First Class held steady in fifth place with 66,000 units / $1.64 million for the week and 1.40 million units / $33.87 million after four.

The overall Blu-ray market was mixed this week, but more on the lower end than higher end. It rose 13% in term of units sold when compared to last week; however, it was down 25% in terms of revenue. Compared to last year, sales were down 18% in terms of units and 16% in terms of revenue. However, last year's leader, Iron Man 2, had been on sale for a full week while Transformers: Dark of the Moon has been on sale for only a few days, which mitigates some of the decline. Also, Dark of the Moon is clearly a placeholder release until the special edition comes out. On the other hand, when compared to last year, DVD sales are in free-fall down 60% in terms of units and 67% in terms of revenue. The Blu-ray ratio reached 49.8% in terms of units and hit 57% in terms of revenue generated. Hitting the 50% mark for Blu-rays sold is certainly in reach and should be broken before the Christmas shopping season reaches its peak.

I'm not sure how I feel about next week's prospects. On the one hand, the best selling Blu-ray should be The Lion King, which should sell really well, at least for a catalog title. On the other hand, this week last yearBeauty and the Beast came out on a single Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, which inflated Blu-ray sales for the week. I expect declines, but this shouldn't be seen as an omen for the future.